One million march against war

Britain's largest ever demonstration saw hundreds of thousands Britons from all walks of life intent on delivering a stark message to Tony Blair.

By Rajeev Syalm, Andrew Alderson and Catherine Milner

12:01AM GMT 16 Feb 2003

Britain witnessed its largest demonstration yesterday when an estimated one million protesters took to the streets of London to oppose the looming war against Iraq.

The centre of the capital was paralysed by noisy but peaceful people from many political backgrounds. Former members of the Armed Forces, clergymen and young children all joined the march to Hyde Park.

On a bright but chilly day, thousands of demonstrators carried banners with messages such as "No War On Iraq" and "Make Tea, Not War". The crowds at the two starting points on the Embankment and Gower Street were so large that the police began the march early for safety reasons.

When the two strands finally met in Piccadilly Circus, there were deafening cheers from the thousands who had gathered around the statue of Eros. Others sounded their horns and banged drums.

Large peace protests were also held all over the country and around the world. Up to 60,000 protesters gathered in Glasgow and up to 90,000 in Dublin, while Italy had the biggest protest, with an estimated two million peace campaigners on the streets of Rome.

Those taking part in the London protest included the Rev Jesse Jackson, the black former presidential hopeful, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, and leading names from the world of showbusiness, including Harold Pinter, the playwright, and Harry Enfield, the comedian.

Some organisers from the Stop the War Coalition claimed that two million people had taken part in the protest - nearly five times the 400,000-plus crowd that took part in the Countryside March last September.

Officially, the police said that there were at least 750,000 demonstrators, but this did not include those who had gone direct to Hyde Park. Officers privately said that the total appeared certain to have reached at least one million.

As the march reached its peak, there were three arrests - two men were arrested for public order offences and another man for possession of an offensive weapon. More than 4,500 police were on duty in London and all leave was cancelled.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, was among the protesters. He called on the Prime Minister to recall the House of Commons when it is in recess next week. "This is the riskiest moment for Britain since Suez," he said.

At Hyde Park Corner, Mo Mowlam, the former Labour minister, attacked her former colleagues. "Things can only get better if we stick together. Keep it peaceful. Because being peaceful, people will have no excuse not to listen. Tony Blair and the Government have [boxed] themselves into a right corner," she said.

The Rev Jackson said he had come on the march to show President Bush and Mr Blair that there was unity among people across the world against the war. "I am here to show support for the British people, most of whom recognise that war is not the way to relieve the Iraqi people of their suffering," he said.

Bill Morris, the Unison trade union leader, warned that the anti-war movement could galvanise public opinion against the Prime Minister. "The anti-war movement could be significant. We all know what happened with the Vietnam War in the US. Blair needs to be careful," he said.

Outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, a group of Gulf war veterans joined the march. Brian Matthews, 40, a former sergeant in the Parachute Regiment, said he believed the last Gulf war had been justified because Saddam had invaded Kuwait.

This time, however, he said he could see no reason for declaring war other than a quest for oil. "We chose not to finish the job last time when we had a chance. This time we are going in there to save the world economy, not the people of Iraq," he said.

Many "hard-Left" groups dominated the front of the march: most of the stewards surrounding the Rev Jackson admitted to being members of the Socialist Workers Party.

There were, however, tens of thousands of "moderate" protesters. Jonathan Callow, 57, a businessman from Chelsea, west London, said he has been on only one other demonstration, when he marched with the Countryside Alliance last year.

He decided to demonstrate against Mr Blair's plans for a war because of his belief that President Bush was misguided and dangerous: "We are being rushed into a war. The British people are being dictated to by a small minority that support Bush in middle America. We are our own people and should choose for ourselves,"

Mary Chillingford, 48, a housewife from Guildford, Surrey, said that she had also been on the Countryside March last year.

She carried a banner declaring "Hands Off Iraq" and said that she was demonstrating because she did not believe this was a just enough war for her son, a serving soldier, to die in.

"Saddam is not threatening us. The Government should spend the money on British jobs, hospitals and the rural economy," she said. "Britain is falling apart, and what do we do? We send troops to kill a man on the other side of the world. It's madness."

A number of well-known musicians, including Ms Dynamite, joined the march. Damon Albarn, the lead singer of Blur, said that the march had brought together people from all walks of life.

"Everyone is here: members of the Labour Party, the Tory party and quite a few Liberals. None of us can see a reason to start a war and the rest of the world thinks it's stupidity," he said.

Dozens of demonstrators from the Muslim community waved Palestinian flags. They chanted: "Destroy Israel", much to the embarrassment of Mr Livingstone, who was standing next to them.

A group of 20 actors and writers gathered outside the Duke of York Theatre in St Martin's Lane before joining the march. Emma Thompson, who was accompanied by her actor boyfriend Greg Wise, described the war as "dishonest and senseless".

In contrast to the peace march, just one man mounted a lone protest outside the Iraqi section of the Jordanian embassy in central London, holding a placard proclaiming his support of military action to bring down Saddam Hussein.

Jacques More, 44, a writer from Croydon, south London, said: "War is a last resort and it's a necessary resort when evil dictators rule and murder their own people."